Flashlight attachment



P G. H. HYATT FLASHLIGHT ATTACHMENT Filed April 6, 1956 INVENTOR. -6ear5e H. limit BY M TTORNEY Patented Sept. 7, 1937 PATENT or ce" rmsnuen'r ATTACHMENT 'George H. Hyatt, Columbia, 8. C. Application April 6, 1936, Serial No. 73,025

2 Claims.

This invention relates to flashlight attachments and more particularly to a device which when applied to a flashlight will serve very effectively in concentrating rays of light upon an object which requires minute inspection and also permit the object to be magnified so that it may be more clearly seen. A flashlight so equipped may, therefore, be advantageously used wheninspecting portions of a building or other structure to determine whether it is infested by termites but it is to be understood that the inspecting device may be used for examining cloth or other objects which should. be illuminated and magnified in order that they can be clearly seen during inspection thereof. One object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which can be very easily applied to a flashlightbarrel of a conventional construction and to permit ready removal thereof so that it can be easily and quickly transferred to another flashlight. "Therefore, the attachment can be sold as an accessory to be applied by the purchaser to a flashlight barrel of a conventional construction already in his pos session and applied when needed.

Another object of the invention is to so form the attachment that when it is in use, it will have such angular relation to the flashlight that rays of light emitting from the flashlight may be projected forwardly without interference by the attachment when the flashlight is used in the ordinary manner to illuminate objects close at hand or at a distance.

Another object of the invention is to so form the attachment that when it is desired to closely inspect a board, joist or other portionof a building in order to determine whether it is infested by termites, the light can be concentrated thereon and the operator look through a magnifying lens carried by the attachment and a minute inspection made.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of this character that may serve not only to concentrate light upon the surface to be inspected and as a carrier for a magnifying glass but also serve as a reflector which will direct the light towards thesurface with great intensity and cause the surface to be brilliantly illuminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of this character which is of simple construction and capable of being manufactured at small cost and sold at a reasonable price. 'thereby rendering the same commercially desirable.

Other objects ofthe invention will be inpart obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In order that the invention and its mode of operation may be readily understood by persons skilled in the art, I have in the accompanying 5 illustrative drawing and in the detailed following description based thereupon, set outan. embodiment of the same.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein: v N Y 10 Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation illustrating the manner in which a flashlight equipped with the attachment isused.

' Fig. 2' is a view showing the attachment in longitudinal section and the flashlight partly in section and partly in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a view of theattachment detached from the flashlight and shown in longitudinal section.

The flashlight to which this attachment has 20 been shown applied is of a conventional construction and includes the usual barrel 2 closed at its rear end by a detachable cap 3 and having an openfront end. The forward end portion of the barrel is threaded as shown at 4 so that the lens 5 may be held in place in the usual manner by a threaded collar which is removed when the attachment is applied. The usual switch 6 is also carried. by the barrel and it is to be understood that while in the illustration the barrel has been shown of two cell capacity, it may be of any length desired according to the number of cells C to be received therein.

The attachment is applied to the threaded forward end portion 4 of the barrel 2 in place of the collar customarily carried therebyto hold the lens 5 in place and referring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that the device consists of a hood having a cylindrical body or shell 1 which is open at its front end and has the forward marginal portions of its walls rolled outwardly to form a bead 8 which reinforces the front end of the body. A tubular neck or shank 9 projects from the under portion of the body at a rearward and downward incline and has its rear end portion l0 threaded for engagement with the threaded forward portion 4 of the flashlight barrel 2. A1; internal flange ii is provided at the front end of the threaded portion [0 to engage the lens 5 and hold the lens firmly in place and attention is called to the fact that the threaded 'rear portion of the neck or shank extends at such an angle that when it is screwed upon the barrel of the flashlight and the flashlight merely used to illuminate a cellar or other badly pass through the neck 9 and out through the open front end of the body 1 without obstruction as indicated by the line of arrows I! in Fig. 2. The inner surfaces of the neck and the body are highly polished and thus serve as reflectors which increase the illuminating effect of the light rays and cause a portion of a beam or the like which is being inspected to be brilliantly illuminated when the flashlight is held as shown in Fig. 1 with the open front end of the body or shell I facing the area to be inspected.

It is desired to permit the area to be inspected to be very clearly seen and therefore the shell has its rear end equipped with a head it carrying an outstanding ring or collar H in which a magnifying lens I5 is mounted by having its rim i6 firmly secured in close fitting engagement with the collar. The line of sight through the magnifying glass oriens and the shell is as indicated by the arrows I! in Fig. 2 and the dot and dash lines It from the eye IQ of the operator as shown in Fig. 1. It will thus be seen that the operator can use the flashlight to see his way about a dark cellar or other badly lighted place without interference by the attachment and when he observes a portion of a joist or the like which he suspects is infested by termites he can direct the open front end of the shell 1 towards the suspected area for brilliantly lighting the, same and through the magnifying glass, this area can be clearly seen and minutely inspected. Woven or knitted fabric can be easily and quickly inspected to detect imperfections as the light will cause the portion of the fabric over which the open end of the shell is disposed to be clearly displayed and enlargement caused by viewing the fabric through the magnifying glass will permit flaws to be 40 easily seen. While inspecting wood for termites and inspecting-fabric to discover flaws have been mentioned as uses to which the device can be put, it is to be understood that it is not limited to these uses.

lighted place, light'rays from the bulb B may Manifestly, the construction herein shown is capable of considerable modification and such modifications as come within the scope of my claims, I consider within the spirit of my invention.

I claim:-

1. An inspection device comprising a hood having a light emitting opening formed therein, a magnifying lens arranged within said hood at a point remote from said light emitting opening, a light source, a tubular extension connected to and extending at an oblique angle from said hood,

a threaded flange connected to and extending at an angle from said tubular extension, means for connecting said light source to said threaded flange whereby the light rays therefrom may be projected in an unobstructed path directly through the light emitting opening of said hood for illuminating a field of vision and said light source being so arranged with respect to said hood whereby when the latter is placed adjacent a surface or object to be inspected a concentrated light beam will be caused to be projected directly upon such surface or object to be inspected through the light emitting opening of said hood.

2. In an inspection device, the combination with a flashlight having a battery barrel, a bulb and a lens at the front end thereof, a reflecting hood, comprising a cylindrical casing having one end thereof opened, a magnlfyinglens mounted within the opposite end and carried by said cylindrical casing, a tubular extension formed with said casing and extending at an oblique angle with respect thereto, a threaded end formed with said tubularextension capable of having detachable connection with the battery barrel of the flashlight, the rear end of said tubular extension opening into said cylindrical casing whereby the rays of light from the flashlight may project substantially unobstructed through said tubular extension and the opened end of said cylindrical casing.

GEORGE H. HYA'II. 

